Blog

A Real Nail Biter

Posted on August 13th, 2019

We all have those nervous habits we turn to when we feel awkward, stressed, or just plain bored. If your choice vice is biting your nails, you need to know that it can cause a lot of distress on your oral health and overall health. Portales dentist Peter L. Thompson, DDS shares why nail biting is so bad for you and how you can break the habit.

Downsides of Biting your Nails

It may seem harmless, but nail biting can actually:

Chip your teeth

Hurt your jaw (due to frequently jutting your teeth out to bite)

Increase your risk of tooth loss and tooth root loss if you have braces

Tear and damage your gums

Spread bacteria from under the fingernail into your mouth, bloodstream, and body

Not to mention the painful cuticles around each nail and your increased risk of bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching with painful side effects). According to the General Dentistry journal, people who bite their nails and also chew on things like pencils are at a greater risk of having bruxism. Signs of bruxism include worn tooth enamel, sensitive teeth, and pain and popping in the jaw.

Biting your nails makes you look less confident and it certainly won’t increase your chances of a successful date or job interview. The most obvious downside here is, of course, jagged, unattractive nails, but it’s what’s living under your nails that might be the ultimate factor in your decision to quit the habit. Your fingertips are a cesspool of germs, and various types of bacteria, fungus, and yeast can live under your nails, including fecal matter and staph infection. Gross!

Why We Bite Our Nails

Don’t get down on yourself for biting your nails but do talk with your dentist if you want to break the habit. Biting your nails is a mindless action we slip into mostly for emotional and mental reasons. You might consider seeing a counselor to benefit your mental health, or finding something safer to fidget with when you feel stressed or anxious. (Fidget spinners, anyone?)

Adults and children alike struggle with nail biting. If you are the parent of a child who bites their nails, talk with the child and their dentist about how and why to break the habit. Underlying anxiety could be causing the child to resort to nail biting to release stress.

Break Your Nail Biting Habit

If you want to stop yourself from biting your nails, try using bitter-tasting nail polish or a mouthguard. Anything that will protect your teeth and make you take your hands out of your mouth. You can also talk with your Portales dentist for more suggestions.

Whenever you start trying to break the habit, set small and manageable goals such as going one hour without biting. Slowly increase the hours and days until you can’t remember the last time you bit your nails.

Any time you’re trying to stop or start a new habit, you’ll need something to fill the space and get your mind off the temptation. Try sipping water every time you want to bite your nails, chewing sugarless gum, or get up and do a brief stretch. Don’t be too harsh if it takes a while, habits can be very hard to break, even if you know how bad they are!

Peter L. Thompson, DDS is here for any oral health and overall health questions and goals you may have. Make an appointment today if you’re looking for a professional dentist to help you feel and smile your best!

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Why Our Patients Smile

Mara's Story

“What a feeling – being able to smile any time I want without shielding my two front teeth with my hand anymore! I must admit, I didn’t know much about veneers until a friend of mine mentioned them to me. He piqued my curiosity, but it was only after I spoke to Dr. Thompson and his staff that I decided to go ahead with the procedure.

I have had horrible experiences with several previous dentists and the thought of extensive work in my mouth was not appealing to me. Especially because I have a very low tolerance for pain. I can honestly say that Dr. Thompson and his staff are one-of-a-kind, and truly the best out there! Not only are the very efficient and use state of the art procedures and materials, but they are compassionate and caring. I had never thought that a healthy smile would give me such a confidence boost, but it sure did! It used to be that people always told me that my eyes smiled when I spoke to them… Now I smile with much more than my eyes!”

Why Our Patients Smile

Grant's Story

“I first came to Dr. Thompson’s office in January of 2010. I had been having headaches due to muscular tension in my jaw. I suffer from a relatively rare genetic disorder called Amelogenesis imperfecta. This disorder affects the enamel formation in teeth, and I basically had no enamel on my teeth as a child and adult. Due to this I had to have all my teeth removed and replaced with dentures when I was only 25.

Dentures also present some problems: because I no longer had tooth roots in my jaw, my bone slowly began to deteriorate and atrophy, both in my upper and lower jaws. Eventually, by the age of 43, I developed severe migraine headaches due to how much my jaw had changed shape over time.

This is where Dr. Thompson came in. He diagnosed the problem quickly and told me that if I didn’t get implants soon my jaws would atrophy to the point where they could no longer support dentures or implants. Before getting implants, he was able to modify my dentures so my headaches went away within a matter of a day or so. What a relief!

Now, implants are expensive, but not as expensive as I thought they would be, and it is certainly better than the alternative of not having any teeth at all, dentures or otherwise. The implants had to be installed (for lack of a better term) over the course of 3 surgeries. The surgeries were completed in the mornings and I was sent home the same day.

Recovery was roughly 3-6 months between surgeries. It was over a year from the time I first visited Dr. Thompson until I got my final implants, but the final result has been great! My new implants are much more stable than my old dentures and I can now eat things that I never could before. I don’t have to fuss with using adhesive to secure my dentures anymore, and my headaches are a thing of the past! Plus my jaws have stopped shrinking due to the implants.

Dr. Thompson and his staff were very friendly and professional during the entire process. I have been to many dentists in the past, but Dr. Thompson is easily the best.”

Why Our Patients Smile

Lashelle’s Story

“When I found Doctor Thompson, you could honestly say I was at my end. All hope of ever having a normal pain-free life was entirely out of reach and there was no way anyone could possibly help me. I had been repeatedly let down by doctors, specialists, and dentists I had been to. I was convinced these people were only there to hurt you and take your money, not actually sit down with you and help you!”

My teeth were beautiful when something really bad began to happen. My teeth began breaking and wearing away. I brushed and did everything I had always been taught to protect your teeth, but nothing seemed to be helping. I saw a billboard with Dr. Thompson. I cried to my husband every time I passed it…. I only wished that I could find someone who could be what he claimed to be. I passed that billboard many times and highly doubted the possibility that he could help me. The last dentist I had gone to hurt me so bad that I was not about to trust anyone else to touch me. So I lived with it.

The day came when decided I had to trust someone. I had just gone through two pregnancies that took all the nutrients I had, therefore speeding up the deterioration of my teeth. I lived in a dark blur of pain, looked at the ground when I spoke to people, and sipped on liquid Tylenol like it was water. ALL I wanted was to be able to be the best Mommy I could be. I was able to care for them and give them everything they needed, but I couldn’t do a lot of things. It was just too painful. I wanted more for my babies! I wanted them to see their Mommy feeling wonderful and able to look her best. I wanted to show them I could interact with other people and not be afraid.

That was all a dream until I finally broke down and decided that I would never know if Dr. Thompson could help me if I didn’t ask. So, one day in 2010, I made the call. The call that would change my perspective on people and their ability to help others. That day I met Micah, and what an angel she was for me! They knew I was terrified and they did their very best to comfort me. No one can truly understand what you are going through until they have lived it, but they tried harder than anyone I had ever seen. My report was as I knew it would be, they would not be able to save my teeth. I would have to have them all removed.

At 28 years old, it’s not exactly the highlight of your life, but when you have been in so much pain and a dentist looks at you, almost with tears in his eyes and tells you that he is going to help you, it will bring life back to your view on your situation. I realized at that moment that these people were my friends and they were going to be there all the way.

One short visit and I walked away with a new mouth. At first, it was totally foreign to me to have a complete set of teeth in my mouth. It was painful, and was not easy having to relearn a lot of things all over again. With their support and confidence, they helped me believe I could do everything right again. I am writing this a year later and I could not be happier with MY smile. I have my complete set of dentures with two implants on bottom that allow the bottom denture to snap in without any troubles at all. It was a very hard road, but one that I have no regrets taking. I have my new beautiful teeth…. I can smile, talk, sing, laugh, and eat. Most importantly I feel amazing. I can be the wife that my husband deserves and the Mommy that my two little girls need me to be, energetic and fun!

There is no greater feeling in the world than knowing I will never hurt like that ever again. Everything was worth it for me. I don’t mind sharing to the world that Dr. Thompson and his team were the most dedicated and outstanding people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They took care of me, and I will forever be grateful that I called them.”